In electrical apparatus such as household appliances, material saving and labor saving features are attractive to the manufacturer. Similarly, features that simplify and minimize the cost and effort of repair are attractive. The present invention facilitates the insertion and retention of an electrical switch on the housing of an electrical apparatus. In the past it was common to secure an electrical switch to the housing by means of screws, rivets, or brackets that were located within the housing. The use of these types of fastening means all involved time consuming labor in the manufacture of the apparatus and in its repair, and in the replacement of the electrical switch.
One attempt to overcome the above shortcomings is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,905 issued July 8, 1980 to T. Quigley. That patent discloses a switch holder that is comprised of a face plate which is mounted in an aperture in a panel, or appliance housing, for example. The plate has four resilient legs that extend downwardly from the plate and through the aperture. A pair of such legs is located at each end of the face plate and each leg is located inwardly of the periphery of the plate. Each leg has a reverse bend therein and a shoulder in the downwardly extending portion. In use, each shoulder in a leg holds the bottom of the switch housing against the bottom surface of the face plate and the end of each leg on the upwardly bent portion releasably holds the face plate to the periphery of the aperture in the panel or appliance housing.
The present invention is an improvement over the panel mounting adapter disclosed in the above-mentioned patent. In particular, the adapter of this invention provides a more secure retention of the switch in the adapter. This more secure and reliable retention enables a switch manufacturer to assemble the switches onto the adapters and ship them in bulk to an appliance manufacturer with assurance that they will not become disassembled during shipment and handling. This is an attractive feature to the manufacturer since no additional subassembly will be required.